<p>On Brown’s supplement, the prompt says “We prefer that you limit your response to 500 words maximum.”</p>
<p>If my essay is around 510-520 words, is that okay? The word “prefer” makes the restriction seem more of a suggestion, but then the inclusion of “maximum” at the end of the sentence seems to imply it’s much more than that. </p>
<p>My essay used to be much longer, but I’ve reworded and deleted and rearranged until I couldn’t possibly get it any shorter without removing essential ideas.</p>
<p>Great question. It sounds to me like a strong suggestion, but I think any official would tell you to keep it below 500 words, just in an effort to get at least a few kids to stick to that and make the load easier on the admissions board. Mine is, at its absolute shortest, 691 words. Just make sure, if it is longer, that it is justifiable (i.e. You aren’t rambling.) Remember, there is a difference between ‘concise’ and ‘short.’</p>
<p>First make sure to figure out how many words fits in the online format. If there’s a cut-off, you don’t want dozens of words at the end missing.</p>
<p>I am positive, having seen several essays by accepted students, that Brown won’t deny someone admission because their essay ran a few words over the limit.</p>
<p>I’m not expert, but it doesnt look bad. Although I’m sure that some words can be taken out or phrases reworded to get you to the 500 limit you’re so close to.</p>
<p>That’s fine. They’re not going to get antsy about 20 words over the limit.</p>
<p>i generally recommend that a 500 word essay can be 500 to 800 words if <em>every word counts</em>. pm me</p>